“I’m grateful that local leaders have worked to make the feelings of inclusion I’ve experienced now a legally prescribed reality for all LGBTQ+ people.”
2020 vision
Doing their bidding
Letter: Gaining a better perspective through dowsing
“Dowsing is a method of accessing and gaining entrance into one’s intuition.”
Please don’t trample Heller’s blazing star (and other rare treasures)
“Help us make a difference with some of our rarest species by joining thousands of visitors in the simple act of staying on trails and heeding any ‘area closed’ signs.”
Letter: Au revoir, Charlotte Street
“The affordable housing problems of Asheville will not be solved by destroying our heritage.”
Letter: Does Asheville belong to all of us?
“[M]oving the camps allows us to return to the comfort of putting our collective head in the sand as our city becomes unaffordable for more and more of us.”
Hard times
Letter: Suffering extreme driving conditions on Asheville’s streets
“After daily trips along Asheville’s streets over the past few years, I can report that Asheville’s streets are among the worst in the country.”
What a steal
Letter: Time for NC to raise the minimum wage
“No one should ever have to avoid doctors’ visits even when they were in great need because they couldn’t afford it and had no insurance, like my co-workers.”
Letter: Keep current zoning for Charlotte Street corridor
“As a neighborhood, many of us would likely extend our heartfelt support for a development project that respects the hard work, discernment and collective visioning of our neighborhood citizens and abides by the present zoning that we have worked so diligently to create.”
Letter: Medicare for All makes economic sense for WNC
“Asheville-area workers and families — regardless of race, gender or job status — would become a healthier, more financially secure local workforce.”
Letter: The elephant in the room about affordable housing
“There is not affordable housing in our society, including the Asheville area, because there is not profit in affordable housing.”
Letter: Syringe exchange programs save lives
“Syringe service programs are the primary drivers behind the reduction of overdose and hepatitis C-related deaths.”
Soul medicine: The green splendor of rich cove forests
“Appalachian rich coves are among the most diverse plant communities in North America, home to three times as many rare plant species as are found in other forest types.”
Letter: Asheville area can learn from Coral Gables
“The city of Coral Gables, Fla.. … has been very successful preserving its heritage as well as allowing for the growth that comes with a popular place to live.
Letter: Will Asheville citizens close their laptops and take action?
” Asheville is without a doubt a first-class destination for unreconstructed navel gazers. Complacency, though, can be a deadly sin masquerading as good intentions.”
Tri-polar
Letter: Yes to removing the Vance Monument
“There are other costs that need to be factored in, particularly for those in our community who see the monument, whether named for a historical figure or having a different name, as one that would remain hurtful and even traumatic if it continues to stand.”
Letter: ‘I believe’ can be the start of advocacy
“Bumper sticker activism may not be proverbial ‘skin in the game’ and may make us feel good selfishly, but can also reflect the beginning of awareness.”